Electric semiautomatic door operator



K. L. MOSHER ELECTRIC SEMIAUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATOR April 10, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept; 26, 1947 INVENTOR.

Karma [/7 L. MOS/767" mam v AWE m, 1951 K. L. MOSHE-g 2,548,042

ELECTRIC SEMIAUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATOR Filed Sept. 26, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mi Q2 Jim y? IN VEN TOR.

Patented Apr. 1 0, 1951 ED STATES PATENT taste iii intiiinio 'sEitfiAUTo ATIo DOOR OPERATOR Kenneth Mosher, iticeviiie; Iowa Ap iieatits September 26, 147; Seriai 1%. 776181 3 Claims; (01. 160-193) This invention relates to doors and more particularly to an electric operator for doors of a hangar or the" like.- 7

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved door structure for large buildings such as hangars, which have doors extending substantially across the length of one end thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved door and door operator for astructure of this kind in which the weight of the door is substantially supported on a door operating shaft, and the door sections which are hingedly connected together are so constructed and arranged that the sections provide a reinforcement for each other in their vertical folded position, thereby providing a solid structure for resisting the forces of wind and the like. v i

A further object of thisinvention is to provide a door and door operator of this kind which is relatively economical to construct and which is adapted for proper operation in high winds. The construction and arrangement of the door and the operating means therefor isflsuch'that nearly all the thrust on the end of the building is eliiriihated and absorbed by the I cable control system.

A still further object of this" invention is to provide an improved locking member for rocking the upper and lower door sections in aligned or closed position. The locking member is remove bly supported on the hinge between the two door sections and may be completely ra -saves forop'erating the doorsto t heir open position. The 19sting member substantially reinforces the joint etween the upper and iower section's' in their aligned or c1osed' position ands'ecures' against inadvertent swinging movement about the hinges therebetween. V w i V I With the" above and other objects n V ew, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, andthen" more particularly pointed out in the appended Claims.

In the drawings, V Figure 1 is afrontei vation'ofs oershdd' fr operator constructed according to an einhodi'ment of this invention, 2 I V Figure 2 is a vertical" section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the door in the lowered position,

Figure 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 showing the door in the raised position,v A x V,

Figure 4 is aperspective iew of the door lock in the raised oropen position and Figure 5 is a perspective view or the door lock in its closed or locked position.

v Referring to the drawings, the numeral [6 designates generaliy a large structure such as a hangar or the like, having a door II at one efid thereof which is adapted to be raised and folded v'iticaill v'. i r r,

s the use of doors of this type much difficulty has Beenexperienced in properly supportingthe doors sothat the doors will operate efficiently in weather conditions both in the opening and closing thereof.

I have provided adoor H formed of an upper sect on l2 and'alower section I l hingedlycon rec tes together and to the stru turein for fold ins verna ly about' horizontalhinges. The stream e i embodies a door fra e including a fie adefsctioh disposed between the sides of the door frame contiguous to the ut'per end thereof and secured thereto. The door seti on I 2 is fiingedIy connected to the transverse 15am; t5 of thes'tructure [if b3 a phrase of 11'0"" "tally spaced apart hinges; 16; the hinges being disposed exterio'rljof the mustar l0. 7

The l wer sect on |4' of the door I I; is hingedli s se a me: fiit?" t We m the" door section II by pi rnayor hinges 11 ha in hor ntal n lev fi z t v ig pintles' being disposed" iterioily of thestruture vi 0.1 'rne lower door sectionfl may be wider than the upperi se'c tion I12" to suitab'lv seal the opening inth'e end or the shutters ID. V p H M p I a in ts'f lower or c'1o"d position"; the door, I l'l i's tdrtd s d m te Le a t e en n fil'i structure antigth'e sections l2 and Hi are so arranged that the lower section Mi will 1 is outwarmly upon th'eiriitial move ent thereof sdthfit the d'dbr N 15913 be folded veiticalh f to bfifpletely open the structure It). M

I'ha've' provided an electricoperating means for a tuating th door tl h ij i' be contr" Isa selectively an op rate [The 001: control means co" A "set drive" shiaft' lt rotata sutported oii'be r1; 'e'ontnstruettr minimdiaineb above the" upper endof the upper door sectionfIfZL p; p

A motor 20 is provided for rotating theshaft [Be d is c iedp oi e s aft b be t; 2.! r i e uts i 2v 22 daon-themotot sh and a pulley 24 fixed on-ashaftextendingfrom a reduction ear box-25 The power shaft I8: is operativel-y connected to the reduction gear box 25' for rotation by the motor 2-0; ,A switch 26 is fi-xed' on one of the'sidemembers' of the structure I8 where it may be controlled by an operator and is connected to the motor 28 by wires 21.

A pair of pulleys 28 are fixed on the shaft I8 near the opposite ends thereof. A flexible cable or chain 29 is fixed to the pulley 28 at its upper end and is connected to the lower edge of the lower door section I4 by a pair of downwardly diverging flexible sections 38.

The flexible vmember 29 is connected to the pulley 28 in such a manner that the cable 29 leaves the pulley 28 rearwardly thereof and extends downwardly to the lower edge of the door section I4.

A pair of second pulleys 3| are fixed on the shaft I8 between the larger pulleys 28 and are provided for connection to an operation-f the upper door section I2. A flexible member as a cable or chain 32 is trained about the pulley 3| in such a manner that the cable 32 leaves the pulley 3| forwardly thereof extending upwardly exactly opposite from the engagement of the flexible member 29 with the pulley 28.

An idle pulley 34 is rotatably carried in bearings 35 by the structure abovev the driving shaft I8. A pulley 34 is disposed above each of the smaller pulleys 3|. The flexible member 32 extends upwardly about the pulley 34 where it extends downwardly on the front side of the door II for engagement with the lower edge of the upper door section I2.

A pair of downwardly and outwardly divergent flexible members 35 connect the lower end of the cable 32 to the lower end of the door section I2. Suitable means may be provided for stopping the action of the motor and rotation of the shaft I8 in the extreme limits of the door II in its raised orlowered position. For locking the door sections I2 and I4 in their aligned position when they are closed, I have provided an improved locking member 48 which may be removably engaged with the door sections I2 and I4 about the hinge I'I thereof.

The locking member 48 is particularly provided for rigidly securing the hinged door sections in their closedpositions to prevent the flexing or movement of the sections about the hinges II due to wind pressure or other sources which would cause the lower section I4 to swing relative to the upper section I2.

, The hinges I! are formed with hinged leaves 4| and 42 secured on the door sections I2 and I4 respectively. A pintle or hinge pin 44 engages through the barrel 45 of the hinge and extends outwardly a short distance from the side edges thereof. A screw or adjusting bolt 46 is carried by each outer end of the bar 55 for engagement with the leaves 4| and 42. The locking member 48 is formed of a pair of parallel spaced apart hook members 41 connected together at one end by a pin 48.

The lower end of the hook members 41 is provided with a reverted hook 49 having a. bill 58 thereon for engagement about the extended ends of the pintle 44. A lever is rockably supported on the pin 48 between the hook members 41. The lever 5| is formed of an elongated arm 52 and an end arm 54 extends upwardly from one end of the arm 52 at an acuteangle thereto or at an angle slightly less than 90. A locking bar 55 is rockably carried by the lever 5| at the point where the arms 52 and 54 are joined together.

A hinge pin 56 engages through the lever 5| and locking bar 55 intermediate the length there- 'of. The lower ends of the adjustment bolts 46 looking the door sections I2 and I4 in aligned position.

The locking member 48 is removably engaged with the pintle 44 so that it may be removed when it is desired to raise the door I I. In the use and operation of the locking member 48, the hooks 49 are engaged with the extended ends of the pintle 44 with the lever 5| in a raised position as indicated in Figure 4.

The lever 5| is then rocked downwardly about the pin 48 until the leaves I2 and I4 are securely engaged with the lower ends of the bolts 46. The arm 54 of the lever 5| i rocked to the right side of the members 41 as seen in Figure 5 for biasing the lever 5| and arm 52 downwardly to the locked position.

A horizontal stop 51 is carried by the free end of the arm 52 transversely thereof and is provided for engagement with the upper side of th locked bar 55. In this locked position of the member 40, th arm 52 is disposed substantially parallel to and adjacent the locking bar 55 with the acute upwardly extending arm 54 disposed in a downwardly and outwardly related position relative to the hook members 41 and the hinge pin 48.

In this manner any force on the door sections I2 and I4 would tend to rock th lever 5| further about the hinge 48 to an increasingly locked position while this lever 5| is restrained against further rocking movement by engagement of the stop bar 51 with the upper side of the locking bar 55.

In order to provide for the accurate fitting of the locking member 48 with the hinge H, the bolts 46 are threadedly engaged in the locking bar 55 for adjustment relativ thereto. Lock nuts 58 are provided on the bolts 46 for securing the bolts in selected adjusted position.

The locking member 48 must be completely removed for operating the doors I2 and I4 to a raised position and the member 48 may be secured to one of the door sections by a flexible supporting member (not shown in the drawings) to restrain the locking member 4|] from dislocation relative to the hinge I1.

I do not mean to confine myself to the exact details of construction herein disclosed but claim all variations falling within the purview of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a folding door for support within a door frame, a vertically disposed header section adapted to be secured between the sides of said door frame contiguous to the upper end thereof, a first vertically disposed door section positioned in end to end relation with respect to the lower end of said header section and havin one end pivotally connected to the latter on an axis transverse of and exteriorly of said header section for swinging movement toward and away from the exterior face of said header section, a second vertically disposed door section positioned in end to end relation with respect to the other end of said first door section and having one end pivotally connected to the latter on an axis transverse of and interiorly of said first door section for swinging movement toward and away from the interior face of said first door section, a shaft arranged in spaced parallel relation above said transverse axes and mounted on said header section for rotary movement, a pulley carried on said shaft, flexible means having one end trained about said pulley in one direction and secured thereto and having its other end secured to the other end of said second door section, another pulley spaced from said first named pulley and secured to said shaft, another flexible means having one end trained about said last named pulley in a direction opposite to said first named flexible means and secured to said last named pulley, said last named flexible means extending through said header section and having its other end secured to said first door section, and power means operatively connected to said shaft for effecting the rotary movement of the latter.

2. In a folding door for support within a door frame, a vertically disposed header section adapted to be secured between the sides of said door frame contiguous to the upper end thereof, a first vertically disposed door section positioned in end to end relation with respect to the lower end of said header section and having one end pivotally connected to the latter on an axis transverse of and exteriorly of said header section for swinging movement toward and away from the exterior face of said header section, a second vertically disposed door section positioned in end to end relation with respect to the other end of said first door section and having one end pivotally connected to the latter on an axis transverse of and interiorly of said first door section for swinging movement toward and away from the interior face of said first door section, a shaft arranged in spaced parallel relation above said transverse axes and mcunted on said header section for rotary movement, a pulley carried on said shaft, flexible means having one end trained about said pulley in one direction and secured thereto and having its other end secured to the other end of said secnd door section, another pulley spaced from said first named pulley and secured to said shaft, another flexible means having cneend trained about said last named pulley in a direction opposite to said first named flexible means and secured to said last named pulley, said last named flexible means extending through said header section and having its other end secured to said first door section, power means operatively connected to said shaft for effecting the rotary movement of the latter, and switch means disposed remote from said power means and operatively connected to the latter for selectively effecting the rotary movement of said shaft.

3. In a folding door for support within a door frame, a vertically disposed header section adapt- 5) ed to be secured between the sides of said door frame contiguous to the upper end thereof, a first vertically disposed door section positioned in end to end relation with respect to the lower end of said header section and having one end pivotally connected to the latter on an axis transverse of and exteriorly of said header section for swinging movement toward and away from the exterior face of said header section, a second vertically disposed door section positioned in end to end relation with respect to the other end of said first door section and having one end pivotally connected to the latter on an axis transverse of and interiorly of said first door section for swin ing movement toward and away from the interior face of said first door section, a shaft arranged in spaced parallel relation above said transverse axes and mounted on said header section for rotary movement, a pulley arranged adjacent each pulley spaced inwardly of each of said first named pulleys and secured to said shaft, another flexible means having one end trained about each of said last named pulleys in a direction opposite to said first named flexible means and secured thereto, each of said last named flexible means extending through said header section and having its other end secured to said first door section, and power means operatively connected to said shaft for effecting the rotary movement of the latter.

KENNETH L. MOSHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 362,602 Briggs May 10, 1887 924,686 McCloud June 15, 1909 990,589 Rashkin Apr. 25, 1911 1,451,619 Latrace Apr. 10, 1923 2,188,393 Mueller Jan. 30, 1940 2,238,181 Morgan Apr. 15, 1941 2,274,216 Sanders Feb. 24, 1942 2,372,303 Thiele Mar. 27, 1945 

